Improvement in car-axle boxes



W. W. &. C. T. CRANE.

lPatented Aug. 4, 1874.

Car-Axle Boxes.

' jiji I N VEN TOR A attorneys.

Nrrnn STATES PATENT QFFICE.

WELLSLY W. CRANE AND CLARA T. CRANE, OF AUBURN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN cAR-AxLE Boxias.l

Specliication forming part of Letters Patent No. 153,705, dated August4, 1574; application led J une 5, 1874.

To all whom it may concer-n:

Be it known that we, WELLsLY W; CRANE and CLARA T. CRANE, of Auburn, inthe county of Cayuga and in-the State of New York, have inventedvcertain new and useful Improvements in Housing for Car-Axle; and dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsand to the letters of reference marked thereon making a part of thisspecification.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangementof a car-axle housing` or box for the purpose of saving oil as its mainfeature, as will be hereinafter set forth.

In the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section,and Figs. 2, 3, and 4 detached portions ot' the box and axle- Arepresents an axle housing or box, which is made, so far as externalappearance goes, similar to those now in ordinary use. B represents arecess cast in the housing A, and C is a stop-bar fitted closely intosaid recess, and secured to the housing by means of bolts D D. E is awedge-plate, which the stop-bar is intended to hold in position. F isthe journalbearing or plummer-block, cut away at G for the purpose ofhinging the partition I, its thickness being nearer the outer end of theaxle, in order to gain a larger amount of room in the collar-housing. Wewill now explain the cause of this change of construction. The extremelength of the enlarged portion of the axle K is two inches from thewheel-hub H to the shoulder lc in car-axles now in use therefore, as ourimprovement is intended to be used on those in use, the partition I isplaced back toward the outer end of housing A, in order to obtain theobject referred to. J is the axle-journal, and upon the enlarged portionof the axle K is firmly secured the flanged collar L. M is thecollar-housing, and a a a the clearances between said collar and thecollar-housing, and between the end plate or wall R and the wheel-hub H.O is the cover for the collar-housing, and attached thereto is aninclined flange, P. We will now explain the construction and thefunctions to be performed by the iianged collar L, the cover M, with theinclined flange attached, theaperture q in the partition I, and theirrelation to each other. The collar L is constructed in two parts, havingtwo deep anges, a a', said flanges being made sharp, or nearly sharp, attheir periphery, leaving a space between said iianges at their junctionwith the periphery of the body of the collar at z' t. This is done toallow the inclined flan ge P to enter between said lian ges, and allowroom for said inclined flange. When the journal-bearings F wear awayupward and at their ends, as shown by the dotted lines at w fw, causedby the lateral motion of the car, it will be seen that the clearances na n are equalized in distance from the collar to the walls of thecollar-housing, and the wheel-hub H and the end plate on wall R, for thepurpose of keeping the said collar and the aforesaid wheel-hub fromcoming into contact with the walls of said collar -housings when theends of the bearing F are endward and outward, caused by the motion ofthe car laterally, as shown by the dotted lines. The surplus oil fromthe end of the journal-bearing and shoulder of journal at k is taken bythe flange a of the collar L, and ejected upon the cover o. Theinclinedflange B is intended to conduct the oil thus thrown upon said cover downbetween the flanges a a', not allowing any oil to pass the ange a',whereby the waste of oil is entirely prevented. The collar-housing M isrelieved of oil by the aperture q in the partition I, and returned tothe housing A. The guard-plate W is attached toy the partition I by thebolt e, and is intended to keep the aperture q free from waste or otherfibrous :material when such material is used within the housing EI, toconduct the lubricating fluid to the journal J. The flange S is for thepurpose of forming a check upon the oil contained within the housing Awhen the said oil is agitated by the lateral motionl of the car, and yopening is intended to be nearly close to the under side ofaforesaidaxle, leaving a space betweenthe upper side of said axle and saidopening, to allow for wear upward upon said journal-bearing F. Saidspace is closed by the plate d, to prevent the ingress of dust.

Now, in order to remove the bearing F when worn and replace it with anew one, the stopbar C must be removed, the wedge-plate withdrawn, andthe bearing F lifted upward sufficiently to pass over the shoulder orcollar T; This device enables us to place the lower edge of the openingin plate R close to the under side of the axle K, and thereby prevent toa large extent the ingress of dust in that direction.

We are aware that an aperture to relieve the collar housing M of oil, asshown at q in the partition I, is seen in patent of W. W. Crane, datedMay 13,1873, and we therefore disclaim this as a part of our invention.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim isl. Incombination with a housing, A, provided with a wedge -plate, E, theremovable stop-bar (3, held in the recess B in the housing by the boltsD D, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with a housing, A, provided with a housing, M, andjournal J, the journal-bearing F cut away at Gr, and the partition I, asand for the purpose specified.

3. In combination with a housing, A, provided with a bearing, F, housingM, and axle K, collar L, provided with ianges a a', cover O, andinclined iange P, as and for the purpose described.

. 4. The guard-plateWand iiange S, in combination with a housing, A,provided with a partition, I, housing M, and an aperture, q, as and forthe purpose set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing We have hereunto set our handsthis 15th day of May, 1874.

, WELLSLY W. CRANE.

CLARA T. CRANE.

Witnesses:

H. WOODRUFF, HORACE T. (300K.

